Sergey Kovalev: The Krusher From Kopeysk

Sergey Kovalev came out of the Chelyabinsk region of Russia with heavy hands and a nickname to match: "Krusher." He shut out Bernard Hopkins, ruled the light heavyweight division for years, lost twice to Andre Ward, regained a belt, fell to Canelo Álvarez, and ended a 16-year professional career in his home region. Along the way he lived with a ring death and a criminal case that followed him out of the ring.

A Boy From Kopeysk

Kovalev was born on April 2, 1983, in Kopeysk, in the Chelyabinsk region of what was then the Soviet Union. A WBO profile of his early years describes a poor household squeezed into a three-room apartment. He came to boxing late in 1994, at 11, after a friend suggested the gym as a way to train; before that, by the same account, his heroes were Jean-Claude Van Damme and the fights of the street.

The amateur career that followed was long and productive. Wikipedia credits him with 195 wins against 18 losses, and with gold medals at the World Military Championships in 2005 and 2007. One of those defeats came by a single point, 24-25, against Artur Beterbiev, the man who would later rule the same professional division.

An American Start and the Krusher Name

Kovalev turned professional in the United States, working with manager Egis Klimas. His debut on July 25, 2009, at the Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina lasted one round, a knockout of Daniel Chavez. Fighting as "Krusher," he built an unbeaten record through the following years, much of it by knockout.

Yekaterinburg, December 2011: The Death of Roman Simakov

The fight that shaped Kovalev's life outside the record book took place on December 5, 2011, at the DIVS Palace of Sports in Yekaterinburg. It is sometimes misdated, but contemporary reports and Wikipedia agree on 2011, not 2013. His opponent, Roman Simakov, was 27, and the bout carried the WBC Asian Boxing Council title. Kovalev controlled the fight from the start and dropped Simakov in the sixth round. In the seventh Simakov collapsed under another series of head shots and was carried from the ring on a stretcher.

He underwent brain surgery in a Yekaterinburg hospital and never regained consciousness. Wikipedia and the WBO profile say he died three days after the fight, while a wire report published on December 9, 2011, placed his death on the day after the bout. Igor Maruzov of the Russian Boxing Federation confirmed that an investigation into the death was under way. The WBO profile records that Simakov's father filed complaints with Russian police and refused contact when Klimas tried to reach the family.

Kovalev, by that account, withdrew for about a month and struggled with depression. He later recalled that during the fight he had wondered why Simakov needed to keep going and wished it would be stopped. He came back roughly seven months later with a second-round knockout of Darnell Boone. In 2016 he chose to defend his titles against Isaac Chilemba in the same Yekaterinburg arena, saying he had to keep fighting for himself and for Simakov together.

Cardiff and the First World Title

On August 17, 2013, Kovalev travelled to the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff to challenge Nathan Cleverly for the WBO light heavyweight title in the Welshman's home city. Cleverly went down three times, and the referee stopped the fight in the fourth round. Kovalev had his first world championship.

Atlantic City, 2014: Shutting Out Bernard Hopkins

The fight that made Kovalev a star came on November 8, 2014, at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Bernard Hopkins, holder of the WBA and IBF belts, was one of the most cunning defensive fighters of his era. Kovalev put him on the canvas in the first round and then outworked him for the rest of the night. According to the Associated Press report, carried by ABC affiliates, a crowd of 8,545 watched.

All three judges gave Kovalev every round. The cards were 120-107, 120-107 and 120-106, and he added the WBA and IBF belts to his WBO title. For Hopkins it was a rare one-sided defeat. For Kovalev it was proof that he could out-box a master as well as knock men out.

Two Nights Against Andre Ward

Kovalev's unbeaten run ended on November 19, 2016, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Andre Ward won a unanimous decision, 114-113 on all three cards. Many observers thought Kovalev had done enough; Wikipedia records that HBO commentator Larry Merchant called it a hometown decision. In the rematch at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on June 17, 2017, Ward stopped him in the eighth round. (Our full account of both fights is in the Ward-Kovalev feature on this site.)

Lost and Won Again: The Eleider Álvarez Fights

Kovalev rebuilt quickly. On November 25, 2017, at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, he stopped Vyacheslav Shabranskyy in two rounds to win back the WBO title. On August 4 of that year, at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, he defended it against the Colombian Eleider Álvarez. Kovalev was knocked down three times in the seventh round and the fight was stopped, an upset that made many believe his career was over.

The rematch on February 2, 2019, at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, went the other way. Fighting more carefully behind his jab, Kovalev won a unanimous decision by scores of 120-108, 116-112 and 116-112 and was WBO champion for the third time. That August he returned home to the Traktor Ice Arena in Chelyabinsk and stopped Britain's Anthony Yarde in the eleventh round.

Las Vegas, 2019: Canelo's Eleventh-Round Knockout

Less than ten weeks after the Yarde fight, Kovalev defended against Canelo Álvarez, the unified middleweight champion making his light heavyweight debut, on November 2, 2019, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. For ten rounds Kovalev's jab kept the fight close. ESPN reported that two judges had Álvarez ahead 96-94 and the third had it level at 95-95, while ESPN's own unofficial card favoured Kovalev 97-93.

In the eleventh, Álvarez landed a left hook and followed it with a right hand that put Kovalev down and ended the fight at 2:15 of the round. Álvarez became a four-division champion. Kovalev told ESPN afterwards that he had tired after the sixth round because his previous fight had been so recent.

Courtrooms and a Failed Test

The legal case began before the Álvarez rematch. On June 9, 2018, a woman told police that Kovalev had punched her in the face at a party in Big Bear Lake, California, after she rejected his advances. ESPN reported in January 2019 that he faced a felony assault charge, citing her broken nose, concussion and displaced neck disc, and that he had pleaded not guilty in August 2018. His promoter Kathy Duva said he deserved the right to clear his name in court.

In October 2020 Kovalev reached a plea deal, according to a TMZ report that Wikipedia also cites. The felony was dropped, and he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of fighting, noise or offensive words. He was sentenced to three years of probation and two days in jail, credited as already served, and ordered to complete an anger management programme.

A few months later another problem stopped a comeback. ESPN reported on January 15, 2021, that a sample Kovalev gave to the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association on December 30, 2020, showed external testosterone and its metabolites. The California State Athletic Commission called off his January 30 fight with Bek Melikuziev. Duva said Kovalev denied knowingly taking any banned substance.

A Long Coda at Cruiserweight

Kovalev did not box again for 31 months. He returned on May 14, 2022, at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, and beat Tervel Pulev on points. On May 18, 2024, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, he lost a decision to Robin Safar on the undercard of Tyson Fury against Oleksandr Usyk.

His farewell came in Chelyabinsk, close to where he grew up. Against Germany's Artur Mann, at an IBA Pro event with a regional cruiserweight belt at stake, the 42-year-old knocked Mann down in the second round and finished him in the seventh. The IBA dates the event April 19, 2025, while some outlets list April 18. Wikipedia gives his final professional record as 36 wins (30 by knockout), 5 losses and 1 draw.

Sources

• Sergey Kovalev (boxer), Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
• Life after death: The toughest fight for Sergey Kovalev, WBO (wboboxing.com), 2016
• Simakov dies days after KO, Sowetan (via news agencies), December 9, 2011
• Kovalev defeats Bernard Hopkins, Associated Press via ABC7, November 9, 2014
• Canelo Alvarez stops Sergey Kovalev, becomes 4-division champion, ESPN (Dan Rafael), November 2019
• Sergey Kovalev faces felony assault charge after being accused of striking woman in June incident, ESPN (Dan Rafael), January 19, 2019
• Boxer Sergey Kovalev Gets Probation in Alleged Attack On Woman and Dog, TMZ, October 3, 2020
• Sergey Kovalev failed drug test forces cancellation of fight with Bek Melikuziev, ESPN (Ben Baby), January 15, 2021
• IBA Pro 2.0 sees Sergey Kovalev's farewell victory in Chelyabinsk, International Boxing Association, April 2025